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Three dead and three arrests made in French shoot-out

Police say two suspects in last week’s Paris attacks, a man and a woman, were killed.

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French TV station BFMTV said a few police had been wounded during the operation.

The terrorists were hiding in an apartment in the Saint-Denis area of northern Paris.

Police forces gather in the Paris suburb of St. Denis.

French authorities suspect Abdelamid Abaaoud, a Belgian-born Islamic State operative and presumed mastermind of the deadly Paris terror attacks may be in Saint-Denis where elite police were conducting the raid in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a spokeswoman for the Paris Prosecutor said.

French President Francois Hollande will hold a meeting today to discuss proposals to extend by three months the state of emergency declared after the worst attacks in French history.

Up to three people are dead and three others have been arrested during an anti-terrorist raid in northern Paris.

At least seven explosions have been heard at the scene of a police standoff with suspects in last week’s deadly Paris attacks.

Reports suggest that a female suicide bomber blew her up when officials were close to apprehend her. But it didn’t cause death or injuries to police or SWAT teams taking part in the operation to flush out terrorists.

Just before dawn Wednesday, over 100 police descended on the area, raiding an apartment building in the ethnically diverse town where suspects had barricaded themselves in. He told French radio that police believe that there are still heavily armed terrorists inside the building.

The primary target of the raid was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged sponsor and mastermind of Friday’s massacre in Paris, police said.

If Mr Abaaoud was not detained or killed in the raid, one of Europe’s most wanted men remains at large.

Citing police sources, AFP reports several unidentified people were holed up in the apartment.

The operation was launched at around 4.30am local time [3.30 GMT] at the flat where Abdelhamid Abaaoud was thought to be holed up with other armed suspects.

The Paris police department says officers have exchanged gunfire with the suspects and several police have been injured.

In a noon press briefing, a French prosecutor said information and surveillance gathered since Friday – including a number of phones found at the sites of the attacks – led to the belief that the planner of Friday’s attacks could be in the apartment.

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“Our embassy has issued an advisory asking all Indian citizens to exercise caution and remain indoor to the possible extend”, MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. Firemen said one person was lightly injured. More than 100 of the bodies have been released for burial, and autopsies are expected to be completed by the end of the week, the council said.

Shootout during police operation in Paris as French police widened hunt for